coelacanth

[ see-luh-kanth ]

/ ˈsi ləˌkænθ /

Save This Word!

noun

a crossopterygian fish, Latimeria chalumnae, thought to have been extinct since the Cretaceous Period but found in 1938 off the coast of southern Africa.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of coelacanth

1605–15; <New Latin Coelacanthus originally a genus name, equivalent to coel-coel- + Greek -akanthos -spined, -thorned, adj. derivative of ákantha spine, thorn

OTHER WORDS FROM coelacanth

coe·la·can·thine

[see-luh-kan-thahyn, -thin], /ˌsi ləˈkæn θaɪn, -θɪn/, adjective

Words nearby coelacanth

coefficient of performance, coefficient of restitution, coefficient of variation, coefficient of viscosity, coel-, coelacanth, coelanaglyphic, -coele, Coelenterata, coelenterate, coelenteron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use coelacanth in a sentence

This is the case with nautilus and another bellwether species, the coelacanth.
Twilight of the Nautilus - Issue 104: Harmony|Peter Ward|August 11, 2021|Nautilus
Plus, species with a slow reproductive rate, such as coelacanths and the great ape, are particularly vulnerable to environmental or man-made changes.
These ancient deep-sea fish can live five times as long as biologists expected|Sara Kiley Watson|June 25, 2021|Popular-Science
Ernande says his team is uncertain why every coelacanth specimens deposit bold bands every fifth year.
These ancient deep-sea fish can live five times as long as biologists expected|Sara Kiley Watson|June 25, 2021|Popular-Science
Scientists have observed very few coelacanths partially due to their mysterious behavior—they spend most of the day clustered together in volcanic caves.
These ancient deep-sea fish can live five times as long as biologists expected|Sara Kiley Watson|June 25, 2021|Popular-Science

Fishing, channel dredging, submarine blasting, and deep-water port construction, all threaten coelacanths, classifying the creatures as endangered and threatening their 360-million-year run on the planet.
These ancient deep-sea fish can live five times as long as biologists expected|Sara Kiley Watson|June 25, 2021|Popular-Science
The coelacanth fishes from the Rock Lake shale are part of the varied fauna collected from Garnett.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols
A synopsis of the coelacanth fishes of the Yorkshire Coal Measures.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols
All are of the coelacanth type, having Y-shaped neural and haemal arches, without centra.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols
The knoblike antotic processes on the basisphenoid are unlike those of any other known coelacanth.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols
Coelacanth fishes from the continental Triassic of the western United States.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols

British Dictionary definitions for coelacanth

coelacanth

/ (ˈsiːləˌkænθ) /

noun

a primitive marine bony fish of the genus Latimeria (subclass Crossopterygii), having fleshy limblike pectoral fins and occurring off the coast of E Africa: thought to be extinct until a living specimen was discovered in 1938

Word Origin for coelacanth

C19: from New Latin coelacanthus, literally: hollow spine, from coel- + Greek akanthos spine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for coelacanth

coelacanth

[ sē′lə-kănth′ ]

Any of various fishes of the group Coelacanthiformes or Actinistia, having lobed, fleshy fins. Coelacanths are crossopterygians, the ancient group of lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to land vertebrates. They were known only from Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossils until a living species (Latimeria chalumnae) was found in the Indian Ocean in 1938. A second Latimeria species was described in 1999.